Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

Bangladesh Central Bank Heist Noticed Because Of Spelling Error

Hackers sent nearly three dozen requests to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to move money from the Bangladesh bank's account there. The hackers got away with more than $80 million.   (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Hackers sent nearly three dozen requests to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to move money from the Bangladesh bank's account there. The hackers got away with more than $80 million. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

A spelling mistake during an online bank heist last month helped put a stop to the theft, according to bank officials. The hackers broke into the website for Bangladesh’s central bank, and stole codes that allowed them to request financial transfers from the Bangladesh bank account at the Federal Reserve of New York.

More than $80 million was stolen in four transfers, but the fifth transfer to Sri Lanka’s Shalika Foundation was held up because the world foundation was spelled “fandation,” and that caught the attention of Deutsche Bank, which was involved in the transfer. Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti speaks with Mike Regan of Bloomberg Gadfly about what happened.

Correction: An earlier version of the text above misstated the amount stolen. It was $80 million, not $80 billion.

Guest

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.